The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to internet access, and is more particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with controlled IP flows, where controlled implies a feedback connection.
Where TCP/IP (transmission control protocol over internet protocol) traffic flows between the internet as a whole and an essentially private, stub network across long-latency links, access to the internet is sub-optimal. Specifically, if a mobile network built around point-to-point, high latency wireless links (for example, a geostationary satellite link) is connected to the internet, the latencies involved severely restrict the performance of TCP/IP connections. However, TCP/IP is required to use flow control mechanisms for congestion avoidance and congestion recovery, but although this produces poor performance when applied to long-latency connections, it is essential to prevent the internet from collapsing.